Senator CHIPP (VICTORIA)
-I ask the Leader of the Government in the Senate a question. I am genuinely seeking information about why the Government voted in the way it did yesterday on the matter of public importance concerning oil exploration on the Great Barrier Reef. As I understand it, the motion moved by the Opposition contained three components. The first related to the Prime Minister's complete and unequivocal guarantee that the Government would not allow drilling that would do any damage to the reef. The second related to the Queensland Government's intention to allow drilling in the region of the reef. The third component related to the Commonwealth Government's maintaining full jurisdiction and control over the Great Barrier Reef region. Which of those three components impelled the Government to vote against the motion when it was put?